I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes about a month and a half ago. The diagnosis was triggered by a fasting blood glucose test that revealed a blood glucose level (taken after waking up) of 10.6 mmol/l (190.8 mg/dl) and A1c of 9.6.
I haven’t yet gone for a second blood test that will confirm the diagnosis but expect to do so very shortly.
In the meantime I have been trying to treat the problem with diet and exercise. I also have a blood glucose meter and have been testing regularly. My doctor has prescribed metformin but I haven’t yet touched it because of concern about its side effects. Speaking of which, does anyone know how I could moderate some of the nastier side effects metformin is known for??
So far, diet and exercise are helping somewhat, but not bringing my sugars down to where they really should be.
For instance, last night before dinner, my BG was 7.9 mmol/l (142 mg/dl). I had an 8 oz. broiled steak, two cups of broccoli and cauliflower and a small Caesar salad with bacon bits and Parmesan cheese and lemon for dressing, and two hours later, my BG spiked to 10.3, but went down to 6.5 after a 30-minute walk.
However, morning is a bigger problem for me. This morning, BG was 7.8 on awakening. I had a bowl of All-Bran Original cereal (a dietitian recommended it to me because of its high fibre content) with a half cup of 1% milk, and a small amount of fruit (mixed berries) on top. I tested one hour after eating it, just to see if what I ate was causing a spike, because over the last few days, my pre-lunch BG levels have been consistently high, hovering around 12.5 mmol/l (225 mg/dl).
Wondering what I could have for breakfast instead to avoid the spike but not go hungry!
The trouble with Type 2 diabetes is that it seems to play by its own rule book, but won’t tell you what the rules are!
hi there Soul Jam, welcome to the family. I’m type 1, but I know lots of type2s here, some managing on diet and exercise. I searched for “breakfast ideas” in the “Forum” and got lots of discussions, here’s one with a lot of replies
Forget the dietician and trust your meter. Your dinner was excellent and is one of my staples, both for flavor and glucose management. All Bran, milk, and/or berries would all spike me to one extent or another and your meter agrees. Personally I found it easier to give up the idea of ‘breakfast’ foods other than omelets and a few other exceptions because the majority are very carby and a really bad way for a diabetic to start the day. Now I start the day with an omelet, celery with unsweetened peanut butter, a handful of almonds, a chunk of cheese, a ham steak, etc…
Dr. Bernstein was the first patient to use a glucometer. He discovered how to manage his bg where no one had really done so before him and has outlived the anticipated lifespan of a T1 in the process. His book, ‘The Diabetic Solution’ is now the only thing I use in addition to my glucometer and the true life experience and observations of the fine folks on message boards such as this one.
I actually eat steak and broccoli every single workday because Lean Cuisine makes a frozen dinner with just those items that contains a grand total of only 14 grams carbs. Ok, sometimes I eat the turkey one with 16 grams carbs. Lunch gets a little boring sometimes but when it comes to bgs I’d rather things not get exciting. I’m not a cauliflower fan but today I finally tried one of the many recipes for roasted cauliflower my search engine brought up and I love it. Roasted chicken and roasted cauliflower has become my new favorite for at home days.
Trust your meter! A big round of applause for your diet and exercise and anything else that gets the job done assuming you still need it after the Big Two. =)
All Bran has a lot of sugar and salt in it, that is why you spiked. If you want to have a bran cereal for breakfast see if you can find one without so much sugar and salt in it.
I really decided to answer to help you with metformin. I am on 1000 mg a day, which is a sort of lowish dose, and I take both tablets at night as per my dr. recommendation. He says this way the long lasting metformin lasts the whole 24 hours. I get no side effects apart from the fact that it does lower my blood sugars.
Most diabetics on this list eat low to moderate carb, the watchword is eat to your meter. If you test 2 hours after a meal you will soon see what spikes you and what does not. I try to keep my bsg in the 5s, sometimes it goes lower and that is ok, but prefer to be under 6.
I’m new here too, or newly returned, but I think I may be able to help you.
Your problem with breakfast is not just the sugar and it isn’t the salt. It’s the total of the carbohydrate count. Lets say you had the following
a cup of All bran: 25-35 gms carb
a half-cup of milk (the % doesn’t matter) 5-7 gms carb
Mixed berries 5-10 gms carb
Total 35-52 gms carb
For a non-diabetic that is not a lot of carbs. But for me as a type 2 diabetic it is different. I have found by testing my blood glucose levele after breakfast that I can only tolerate less than 10 gms of carb at breakfast or I will get a very high test result an hour later.
I’m sorry, but your numbers show two things. You will shortly be officially advised by your doctors that you are a type 2 diabetic and you need to consider eating the sort of breakfasts I eat.
Welcome Souljam!
Some tips I learned when I was first diagnosed.
I kept a journal. List of activities, food intake and bg readings (before and post postprandial). The info will help both you and your doctor (and dietician) for future management
Count carbs. Unfortunately, cereal also spike me…stick to protein, cheese, veggies
High blood sugar in the morning may be caused by “dawn phenomenon” Fortunately, there are measures to help it: like less carb intake at night, changing schedule of insulin (or in your case meds) intake, bed time snacks, etc.
Most common side effects of metformin are: diarrhea, headache, nausea and upset stomach.- Some will develop very little or no side effects at all. Some also overcomes these side effects after a period of time. Some overcomes some side effects by taking Metformin ER or takes it with food or after meals.
Okay SoulJam round 1 is over and it looks like the big D might have won this round. But there is another round coming and another after that. This is not a one hour or one day fight. This is a fight for the rest of your life. You have been given some good advice. If you notice there is a thread that is common to all of the responses you have received. This is how “my” BG reacts. Each one of us is different and you have to learn what works for you and against you.
I love rice. Spanish rice. Rice pilaf. Fried rice. I like rice. I learned very early that rice is a big no for me. There are other things I eat with the same carb loading and they do not cause a jump in my BG like rice does. I can eat pasta all day. Breakfast. lunch and diner and I don’t get much of a bump.
Teena gave you some excellent advice. Start a journal. What you eat or drink. Exercise you do. How you feel. What your BG reading are, all of them. Everytime you take a BG put it in your journal. If you feel something isn’t exactly right, test your BG and log not just the reading, but how you are feeling.
Read back over your journal every so often. You will start to see patterns emerge. This is what I did when I was first diagnosed. And I went way overboard with it (my doctors words). But I could see foods that I had to cut out of my diet. When I sent on insulin I went back and learned to adjust my insulin injections based on how I knew things affected ME.
All of this boils down to learning how your BG reacts to foods and beverages and being able to “listen” to your body when it “speaks” to you so you can recognize low BG before they happen. Or so you can recognize when not to have that ice cream because you know your BG is already elevated.
Just remember…you can do and we are all here cheering for you!!! Sparky
Personally I have had to give up all grains, fruit, beans and potatoes. I tried eating high fiber bread and cereal, but they still spiked me too much. This doesn’t mean you will have the same list of problematic foods. Also some T2’s find limiting quantities of problematic foods works. The way to find out is to test test test. Initially I tested before every meal and then at 1 hour and 2 hours until I began to understand how and when my body was reacting to various foods. The website bloodsugar101 has a very simple explanation of how to do this. Most of us have problems in the morning due to Dawn Phenomenon bloodsugar101 has a good explanation of what is going on and tips to minimize it. Metformin can help with this, as well as lowering your fasting readings.
Tips to help with metformin, ramp up the dosage slowly and use the extend release form. This has worked for me although there was a period of adjustment. For me, I would be on insulin were it not for metformin.
Since grains are out for me my breakfasts revolve around eggs. They are the ideal diabetic food 1 g carbs per egg and very filling.
Other reading that helped me was Type 2 Diabetes the First Year by Gretchen Brecker and Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution: The Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars by Richard K. Bernstein. Spend some time reading old posts here at tuD also check out the various groups, there are several low carb recipe groups with excellent ideas for meals. If it turns out you are going to severely restrict carbs the Bernstein group here is an excellent resource.
Take the recommendations of dieticians with a grain of salt. There are some good ones including members of this site, but the standard advice they pass out guarantees failure for a significant percentage of T2’s. In the end your meter is the final arbiter of what is good for you to eat.
Diabetes is a journey–educate yourself so you can best recognize and face the bumps in the road.
I felt quite confused (& scared) in the months right after my dx. I learned so much from these two books:
Gretchen Becker’s The First Year: Type 2 Diabetes
Richard Jackson’s Know Your Numbers, Outlive Your Diabetes
These authors gave me alot of context and helped me calm down as I learned how to live healthfully with diabetes.
Hope you are feeling better than when you first posted!
I have tried every single one of the "healthy/high fiber, "etc cereals I can find at my very health oriented super market, and they all spike me too high, especially if I add fruit which is how I like cereal. I actually find breakfast the easiest meal of the day to plan…unless you hate eggs…because you can eat any variety of eggs with vegies and/or protein and it has barely any carbs. I do add1/2 carb of refried black beans (homemade, not sure what the canned ones have in them) to my usual weekday breakfast for a total of 23 carbs (including 5 for the milk for my cappuchino) and I do fine. On the weekends I have special breakfasts of 31-33 carbs omelette with fried potatoes, and vegetarian eggs benedict and sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t!
hello
also a recent diagnosed type 2.
some advice please: need a bg meter ,and suggestions and recommendation , and the pros and cons of whay you were /are using , any help would be great thanks Toni
I find I can eat All-Bran cereal without the fruit, and my sugars will go up but not spike. But I also find I have to be exact with measurements - the recommended serving of cereal is half a cup, and I add exactly half a cup of milk.
Oddly enough, McCann’s Irish Oatmeal - the ‘quick oats’ variety (26g carbs for a standard half-cup serving) will make my sugar level rise, but the same portion of Quaker Oats won’t. I wonder if it’s the way the flakes are cut. Supposedly the better brands of Irish and Scottish oatmeal are steel-cut.
I love eggs and eat them every day - and to hell with all the foofarah about cholesterol levels! I find I do very well with an egg omelet paired up with cheese and low-fat, low-sodium bacon and a glass of milk.
FWIW, there is one grain I can eat with no ill effects - barley. There’s a microwaveable meal I buy at my local grocery store that comprises a barley pilaf with chicken. It has 42g of carbs, and when I eat it, my blood sugar level actually drops! Normally I can’t eat that many carbs in one meal without paying for it.
Mmmm. Fried potatoes… I should try them sometime to see what they do to my sugar levels. It may be just a matter of portion control… or perhaps not.
Toni, I use the Bayer Contour USB meter. It’s very easy to use and has a built in USB connection so you can plug it into your computer to generate a PDF file of all your blood sugar readings over a 14-day period. You can also recharge the meter by plugging it into a USB port. I got mine on sale - it was $64.95 originally, and I paid $25.00. The health care plan I have at work covers 100% of the cost of strips and lancets plus any medication I may need minus a $4.00 deductible.
hi ALAN
I AGREE WRONG COUNTRY, slack system and on your own is more like it. but i need to get some REAL advise with a better strategy than what this “system” is prepared to offer. i know countries like canada U.S,australia and south africa are really onto it.ive been aware of my condition for 3 month , i was given a pamphlet and told to go and do some research.i’m still not getting the satisfaction im seeking ,so i want to find a meter that i can check my bg and start making some inroads to this disease. i was only aware lately that meal sizes are important ,but still how important i dont know until i can bounce that off how my body reacts to certain foods.What does astralia offer diabetics? cheers toni
I agree wholeheartedly with Alan S’s advice, Test, Review, Adjust. It’s what worked for me when I was given less than helpful advice on diagnosis. It requires a significant investment in test strips initially. Make those strips count by keeping detailed records as to what you ate, how much and the results. As patterns emerge modify your diet until you are meeting your goals.
Speaking of goals many of us have tighter goals than people are typically given, mine is never to go over 140. This is conservative and I don’t always make it, but I feel it gives me the best chance to avoid complications.
Another piece of advice try to pick a meter with reasonably priced strips that also has software so you can upload your readings onto a computer. The software makes it painless to produce statistics and charts that will help you figure out what is going on.
Well, another issue is that dietitians and medical professionals who don’t themselves have diabetes are using a very different rule book, whose theories and philosophies don’t actually correspond with actual diabetic reality.
The classic illustration of this is the dietitian telling you to eat All-Bran for breakfast. Sure, it’s high in fibre. But it’s also extremely high in carbs which means it’s extremely high in sugar. Why is the dietitian telling you to eat a food high in sugar?
I’m glad you are discovering for yourself that the rules are whatever works for you as stated by your blood glucose meter.
It’s great that you’ve found you can tolerate barley. Why not have it for breakfast in that case?
It may be just a matter of portion control… or perhaps not.